Apparatus monitoring signal in situ

ABSTRACT

For repeatedly measuring signals from a fixed position of a tissue to monitor the blood composition, a subject adaptor is used to secure the subject position and a position fixing device uses a remote sensing tool to detect the subject position. The subject adaptor and the position fixing device are used to guide the moving of the subject relative to a position of the last measurement of a first signal analyzer. The signals can be from an aggregate of the designated composition with the other ingredients of the blood.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of a continuation-in-part application ofapplication Ser. No. 14/327,485, now pending, which is acontinuation-in-part application of application Ser. No. 12/173,275filed on Jul. 15, 2008, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-partapplication of copending application Ser. No. 10/924,021 filed on Aug.23, 2004, entitled “AN APPARATUS MONITORING SIGNAL IN SITU”, nowabandoned, which is a continuation-in-part application of applicationSer. No. 10/123,124 filed on Apr. 16, 2002, now abandoned, which is acontinuation-in-part application of application Ser. No. 09/766,237filed on Jan. 19, 2001, now abandoned, and claims the benefit thereofand incorporates the same by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(A) Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a medical device and blood compositionsampling.

(B) Description of Related Art

U.S. application Ser. Nos. 10/123,124 and 10/207,610

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is a need to repeatedly measure the most important physiologicalparameters, such as blood sugar, blood oxygen and cholesterol, in orderto monitor the variations thereof. For such a purpose, it is providedwith a first signal generator in the tissue, for example, aradio-isotope in the tissue emits a signal such as .alpha., .beta.,.gamma. particles. Also, the signal can be an electromagnetic wave(visible light, UV, IR, X-ray, microwave) from outside the tissue. Afterthe tissue is irradiated, absorption, scattering, fluorescence, etc.,are induced in the tissue. A first signal analyzer or a spectrumanalyzer may be used to monitor the concentration of ingredients in thetissue through monitoring an induced signal from the tissue. The inducedsignal may not be from the ingredient itself. The induced signal mayalso be from an aggregate of the ingredient with some other specificcomponent, such as

Aggregate

ingredient (to be measured)+specific component.

In the invention, glucose and hemoglobin are used as an example.

Hemoglobin+glucose.

HbAlc (precursor)

HbAlc

Before hemoglobin and glucose become a compound HbAlc, there is anintermediate stage of aggregate HbAlc (precursor). As the concentrationof Hb is somewhat stable, the concentration of glucose in the blood maybe figured out from the signal of HbAlc (precursor).

To fix the tissue at the same position for sequential measurements, asubject adaptor is invented. The subject adaptor works better with anextruded tissue, such as a finger or toe. If there is a cone-shapedguide inside the subject adaptor, it guides the finger to anchor at thetop of the cone-shaped guide in operation. To secure the finger in astretched position and at the right angle, soft pads both above andbelow the finger can be used. These soft pads could be replaced with oneor more elastic membranes which are stretched to wrap around the fingerand hold the finger smoothly and softly so that no blood circulation isinterfered. These pads or membranes can be in a concaved slot. The aboveentire structure is called the subject adaptor. One or more springs canbe used to hold the subject adaptor to improve its adaptability.

To keep the finger at the same position as the last measurement, amethod to sense the position information of the finger is needed, andthen this position information is used to move the finger back to thesame relative position with respect to the first signal analyzer. Here afew remote sensing methods to sense the position of the finger aredisclosed.

The position of the finger is detected by changing signal intensity of asecond signal by using a second signal generator and a second signalanalyzer, and the second signal generator and the second signal analyzercan be mounted on the same side of the finger. The second signalgenerator generates and outputs the second signal to the finger. In thisway, the second signal analyzer collects a scattered light from thefinger. This scattered light changes along the finger due to naturalmarker such as a nail and a skin border. There will be a huge scatteringlight fluctuation due to irregular and anatomical structure. Or anartificial marker may be put somewhere along the finger which can bedark color, light reflection, or irregular surface, and all artificialmarkers will change the scattering light of the second signalsignificantly to be used to identify the position of the finger.

The second configuration can be that the second signal generator and thesecond signal analyzer are at the opposite directions of the finger. Thesecond signal generator and the second signal analyzer may rotate aroundthe finger. A horizontal position is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. When thefinger tip starts to block the signal output from the second signalgenerator to enter the second signal analyzer, the position of thefinger is known.

Further, using a see through window, this method uses image or directeye contact to see the position of the finger, and then adjust theposition of the finger to the same position as the last measurement.This structure is especially useful for a clamp like finger adaptor thathas the first signal generator and the first signal analyzer, such aspulsatile oxygenometer that is used for measuring oxygen concentrationin the blood. On the clamp, a see through window can be opened, so thatthe finger can be seen when the clamp is applied to the finger. Thereare scales on the see through window along side with the finger, so thatwhere the finger is can be seen when the next measurement to make surethat the finger is at the same position according to the scale is made.This see through window is at the top of the clamp and is correspondingto the tip of the finger.

When the clamp is put on the finger, where the finger tip is can be seenclearly. Because the first signal generator and the first signalanalyzer are away from the finger tip, this see through window will notinterfere with the mechanism of measuring the oxygen content. What needsto be done is cover this see through window with signal blocking cover,so that, no leaking signal will enter the clamp to interfere withreadings of the finger adaptor.

To improve the precision of positioning the finger, a patient's palm maybe placed on a flat pad, so that the finger does not rotate due toincorrect posture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the apparatusfor monitoring a signal in situ of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the first embodiment of the apparatus formonitoring a signal in situ of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the apparatusfor monitoring a signal in situ of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the second embodiment of the apparatus formonitoring a signal in situ of the present invention as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of the apparatusfor monitoring a signal in situ of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a top view of the third embodiment of the apparatus formonitoring a signal in situ of the present invention as shown in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively are a cross-sectional view and a top view ofa first embodiment of the apparatus for monitoring a signal in situ ofthe present invention. The apparatus comprises a subject adaptor 1 forsecuring a subject for repeated measurements during repeated insertions.The subject adaptor 1 comprises a concaved slot 2, multiple soft pads 4,and a cone-shaped guide 5. The concaved slot 2 is made with a mold inthe shape of an extruded tissue, here a finger 3. The concaved slot 2and the finger 3 are complementary in shape. The soft pads 4 are locatedinside the concaved slot 2 and both above and below the finger 3 so asnot to interfere with signals. The cone-shaped guide 5 is located at thedistal end inside the concaved slot 2 to insure the correct position ofthe finger 3. The apparatus further has a first signal generator 6 and afirst signal analyzer 7. The first signal generator 6 is positionedunder the finger 3, for generating a signal to be transmitted to a fixedposition of the finger 3 via a hole through the subject adaptor 1 andone of the soft pads 4. The first signal analyzer 7 is positionedopposite to the first signal generator 6 with respect to the finger 3,for receiving and analyzing an induced signal from the fixed position ofthe finger 3 (i.e. for receiving and analyzing an induced signal fromthe finger 3 in situ). The first signal generator 6 and the first signalanalyzer 7 are connected together in order to fix their relativeposition. The position of the first signal generator 6 and the firstsignal analyzer 7 may be exchanged. Therefore, the first signal analyzer7 may be positioned under the finger 3, and the first signal generator 6may be positioned opposite to the first signal analyzer 7 with respectto the finger 3. With the help of the cone-shaped guide 5, the finger 3can be fixed in order to make a new measurement on the fixed position ofthe finger 3 where previous measurements were made. Thereby, repeatedmeasurements, i.e. the so-called “monitoring,” could be made on thefixed position of the finger 3 during repeated insertions of the finger3. It is pointed out in the invention that the induced signal used forcomposition analysis of a special ingredient is generated by theingredient-making chemical actions with other ingredients in blood.

To improve the precision of positioning the finger 3, a patient's palmmay be placed on a flat pad, so that the finger 3 does not rotate (nortilt) due to incorrect posture to improve position fixing ability. Aposition fixing device 8 is disclosed. The position fixing device 8 usesa remote sensing tool to detect the position of the subject, andcomprises a moving component 9 to define the position of the finger 3precisely. The moving component 9 is movably mounted on the subjectadaptor 1. In the first embodiment of the apparatus, a terminal of themoving component 9 is attached with a second signal generator 10, asecond signal analyzer 11, and the first signal analyzer 7 as describedabove, and is positioned above the finger 3 and moves relatively to thefinger 3. An opposite terminal of the moving component 9 is attachedwith the first signal generator 6, and is positioned under the finger 3.Besides, when the position of the first signal generator 6 and theposition of the first signal analyzer 7 are exchanged, a terminal of themoving component 9 above the finger 3 is attached with the second signalgenerator 10, the second signal analyzer 11, and the first signalgenerator 7, and the first signal generator 6 is attached to theopposite terminal of the moving component 9 under the finger 3. Thesecond signal generator 10 generates a second signal, such as light,etc., to be transmitted to a marker 12. The marker 12 can be a naturalone such as an edge, a nail and skin border, or a wrinkle of the finger3, etc., or an artificial one painted or pasted on the finger 3. Whenthe second signal reflected from the marker 12 is detected by the secondsignal analyzer 11, the second signal informs the apparatus of theposition of the marker 12. The apparatus then knows the precise positionof the finger 3 and thereby the first signal analyzer 7 attached to themoving component 9 is moved to the position of the last measurement. Inthis way, the position of the finger 3 may be positioned more precisely.

At the same time when the second signal generator 10 is moving along thefinger 3, the second signal detected by the second signal analyzer 11 isrecorded as a monitor to detect the rotation or tilt of the finger 3 tofurther improve the position fixing device 8. At the first measurementthe second signals detected by the second signal analyzer 11, isrecorded, this recorded second signals are compared with the secondsignals recorded for the following measurements. If significantdifference between the second signals of the first measurement and thesecond signals of the following measurement is determined, the finger 3at the following measurement is not at the same position as the firstmeasurement.

The moving component 9 may be driven by a computer controlled motor. Acomputer saves a position of the last measurement and an originalrelation between the position of the last measurement and the marker 12.The second signal analyzer 11 and the computer controlled motor areelectrically connected to the computer via wired or wireless connection.Once, the second signal analyzer 11 detects a relation between theposition of the finger 3 and the marker 12, the computer compares theoriginal relation and the relation detected by the second signalanalyzer 11, and then the computer will instruct the computer controlledmotor where to go.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a second embodiment of the presentinvention is same as the first embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2. But, themoving component 9 is only attached with the first signal generator 6and the first signal analyzer 7. The second signal generator 10′ and thesecond signal analyzer 11′ are around the tip of the finger, and atlateral position of the finger. The marker 12 is the finger tip. In thesecond embodiment, the second signal generator 10′ and the second signalanalyzer 11′ are mounted on two opposite sides of the cone-shaped guide5, and are respectively positioned at two opposite sides of the fingertip. When the finger 3 moves into the concaved slot 2 and the finger 3blocks the signal output from the second signal generator 10′, theposition of the finger 3 is detected and known. Therefore, the movingcomponent 9 attached with the first signal generator 6 and the firstsignal analyzer 7 can be moved to the position of the last measurementof the finger 3.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the subject adaptor 1 may be a clamp16. The remote sensing tool further comprises a see through window 13,such as a transparent window, with scales 14 mounted on an upper coverof the clamp 16 and an opaque cover 15, so that the finger 3 may befixed at the same position of the last measurement according to the seethrough window 13 and the scales 14. The first signal generator 6 ismounted on a lower cover of the clamp 16, and the first signal analyzer7 is mounted on the upper cover of the clamp 16. The opaque cover 15 ismounted on the upper cover of the clamp 16 and near the see throughwindow 13, and the opaque cover 15 is not transparent to the signals.After the finger 3 is fixed at a right position, this opaque cover 15 isclosed to block the light from entering the inside of the clamp 16. Thissecures the accuracy of the measurements. In the third embodiment, theopaque cover 15 is a sliding lid.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for monitoring an induced signal insitu comprising: a subject adaptor configured to secure a subject insitu during repeated measurements; a position fixing device using aremote sensing tool to detect a position of the subject, and comprisinga moving component movably mounted on the subject adaptor, wherein themoving component has two terminals; a first signal generator attached toone of the two terminals of the moving component, for generating asignal, and capable of transmitting the signal to the subject in situ;and a first signal analyzer attached to the other terminal of the movingcomponent, for receiving and analyzing a signal induced from the subjectin situ; wherein the remote sensing tool comprises a second signalgenerator and a second signal analyzer both mounted on one of the twoterminals of the moving component; and wherein the moving componentautomatically moves to the subject to lead the second signal generatorand the second signal analyzer to a fixed position during repeatedmeasurements.
 2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein thesubject adaptor comprises a concaved slot.
 3. The apparatus as claimedin claim 2, wherein the subject adaptor further comprises: a cone-shapedguide mounted at a distal end inside the concaved slot to insure theposition of the subject.
 4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe remote sensing tool identifies a marker for detecting the positionof the subject.
 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein saidmarker is a natural one or artificial one.
 6. The apparatus as claimedin claim 1, wherein said induced signal comprises a signal from bloodcomposition.
 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said bloodcomposition comprises aggregate of blood composition.
 8. The apparatusas claimed in claim 1, wherein: the second signal generator is capableof generating a plurality of second signals to the subject; the secondsignal analyzer is capable of detecting the second signals reflectedfrom the subject when the moving component is moving along the finger toimprove the position fixing.
 9. An apparatus for monitoring an inducedsignal in situ comprising: a subject adaptor configured to secure asubject in situ during repeated measurements; a position fixing deviceusing a remote sensing tool to detect a position of the subject, andcomprising a moving component movably mounted on the subject adaptor; afirst signal generator attached to one of two terminals of the movingcomponent, for generating a signal, and capable of transmitting thesignal to the subject in situ; and a first signal analyzer attached tothe other terminal of the moving component, and for receiving andanalyzing a signal induced from the subject in situ; wherein the subjectadaptor comprises a concaved slot and a cone-shaped guide mounted at adistal end inside the concaved slot to insure the position of thesubject: and wherein the remote sensing tool comprises a second signalgenerator and a second signal analyzer mounted on two opposite sides ofthe cone-shaped guide.
 10. An apparatus for monitoring an induced signalin situ comprising: a subject adaptor configured to secure a subject insitu during repeated measurements; a position fixing device using aremote sensing tool to detect a position of the subject; a first signalgenerator for generating a signal, and capable of transmitting thesignal to the subject in situ; and a first signal analyzer for receivingand analyzing a signal induced from the subject in situ; wherein thesubject adaptor is a clamp, and the remote sensing tool comprises: a seethrough window with a scale mounted on an upper cover of the clamp, andthe scale located on a side of the see through window; and an opaquecover mounted on the upper cover of the clamp and near the see throughwindow; and wherein the position of the subject is fixed by measuringthe position of the subject using the scale.
 11. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 10, wherein the opaque cover is a sliding lid.
 12. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first signal generator andthe first signal analyzer are used as a pulsatile oxygenometer.